Dumping color sketches

For the sake of anyone that needs a reference of Sharkane and/or Gotobuki, since I've been very caught into other activities as usual and thus haven't been in the mood for drawing lately. I live some crazy life. (.__.¡)

I'll see about trying to give other characters like Kazuhiko, Heren, Girou, Kento, Orochi, Migonette or Izanagi colored sketches alike these two.

Regarding fan-donations

UPDATE: For available slots for characters, please look here.

Alright everyone. About a few months ago I got some complaints regarding the variety of fan-donated characters that I've accepted into my series but seem to have not been brought up again ever since their concepts were first revealed by the author, one even suggesting that they take back their OC's since I haven't done much, if any regarding each donation.

Allow me to list off why I'm doing character donations in the first place, and further proof that I still have the intention of inserting donations into the series no matter how long it takes me to do the series' first major project.

The idea itself of allowing donated characters was influenced by the Mega Man series. For all the games from the second to the seventh, contests were held prior to each game's release where fans were able to submit their own Robot Masters design concepts. The top 8 would have their designs put into the game and would receive a free copy of the game enclosed in a special collector's cartridge (minus the seventh). The eighth game instead only had six slots for Robot Masters, and they had to be built from a template, while two (Tengu and Astro Man) were developed in-house by Capcom themselves.
*Similarly, the doujin-soft title Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel did this, where a total of five new characters could be created by fans and inserted into the game.

The Jetters and A.C.E.S. have already been phased into the story so well that taking them out to create new replacements would be a chore. And they all have good designs to boot (though I may consider reworking Higure a bit to make him a little less flamboyant) and I don't want the efforts their original authors took in to be put to waste. The original nine Jetters are going to be boss characters in the first game while in both 64 and II, they'll be side characters. In any other adaptations of the stories, they'll gain key roles.

This gives out opportunities for multiple very unknown character/conceptual authors to be part of a soon-to-be big-name series; but I guess this doesn't count due to Aozora's Adventure's very unlikely chances of going mainstream.

Characters that are accepted are guaranteed to make it into the series as either recurring support/sidekick characters (such as Heren, a design of my own), or as recurring/key villains. They won't be simply for just making a design that has no chance of being part of an official/bigger project, alike a few contests I've seen now and then.

Speaking of contests, this really as a whole is not something I'd consider a "contest" as there's really no prizes aside from just having a design of yours become part of the series. Everyone who gets a design accepted is a winner here. I may consider starting up particular contests based around this idea with actual prizes to claim, but not now since I don't want people going to think their efforts were wasted.

Do any submitted designs become 100% my properties only? Absolutely not! Any donated designs can still be used by their creators with no limits and for any necessary purposes he/she desires, such as for roleplaying, entering contests, inserting into one's own story, etc.

Any further questions can be asked.
You may also read the official readme here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j89m20f125dwcz9/AozoraCharacterDesigningFAQ.pdf

Meet the villains of Aozora's Adventure Gaiden

A few days ago I revealed to the public a new sub-chapter in the series, "Aozora's Adventure Gaiden", which takes place in north-eastern Africa. The overall design of the environment will be nods to adventure/fantasy anime/manga, most preferably Fairy Tail and One Piece.

As I also revealed, I'd be accepting concept donations for four of the seven conformed antagonists for this story, which'd boil down to the following:


♀*Talisha, a lazy woman whom boasts about her ability to manipulate water. Originally considered her to be obese with a wide head, but considering how I don't have many sexy girls in my series compared to others... I'm currently thinking something alike Reika Aoki's Cure Beauty form from Smile Pretty Cure!, and Juvia Lockser from Fairy Tail.
♀*Ptolema (Wiki page here), a blonde warrior angel (complete with wings) who fights with white daggers, wind-based attacks, and other speedy/flying techniques. Think of it as like a different interpretation and design of Elysium from Soul Calibur V and Angewomon from Digimon.
♂*Gratien, a psychopath with many amounts of body damage, razor-sharp teeth, and a chainsaw embedded into his right arm. I designed the concept with Grell Sutcliff from Black Butler in mind, but cruder and more mysterious with lots of clothing damage.
♂*Erebos (Wiki page here), the leader of the others shown here; a male shirtless overlord with long spiky hair, large muscles and incredible power. Intended to sport illusions to Idaten from Cho Aniki, but of course with a bit of a darker and edgier tone considering how mine is a villain. The role he plays is overall similar to Terra from Mega Man V. Erebos' primary color scheme would be navy blue, with minor use of pinks, and purples.

The other three I'm currently unsure if I'll get to designing myself:

♂*Nirave, a black-haired goth with smooth, spiky hair (including sporting a very long piece of hair that extends out from the left of his forehead and covers his right eye.), battling his opponents with a metallic doppelgänger hologram of himself and teleporting skills. He is one large parody of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (especially taking after DIO), though his appearance is heavily based on Duplex Man from the canceled Mega Man 3 ROM Hack ''Mega Man Odyssey''. (Design made by CHAOS-CHAOS-CHAOS)
♂*Rodrigo, a hyper-energetic and crude latino with black/red hair that shoots upwards, his primary attacks involving both pyrokinesis and stone-based abilities. He is modeled off of Rufio from the film Hook with some themes from Natsu from Fairy Tail. (design made by ColorMyMemory)
♂*Bojun, a massive, muscular character with extreme strength and bull-like characteristics. Similar in appearance and structure to Uranus from Mega Man V and Zavok from Sonic Lost World with a bit of Potemkin from Guilty Gear Xrd.

Character donations are not required, and thus entirely optional.

3D-Zora: Aozora in a new dimension!

A recent RL friend of mine, who goes by the name buriedinadream on deviantART, did this quite impressive model of Aozora in 3D (which is still in progress). He doesn't have the jacket on (yet), and the pilot's cap was exchanged for a helmet with blue visors, but it's quite close enough.

Hopefully the model will be fully completed someday. When it is, I'll make sure to get a post out about it.

Matthias Sketch Ref

I'm certain this sketch is now two and a half years old, but considering how I never bothered to do an improved sketch of Matthias, I just took my existing sketch, fixed up a few things, and listed off his color scheme.

If you're wondering what's up with the "Skin" color, the small wedge represents the color of the various markings around Matthias' neck.

Meet Fayato

For the record, yes, Fujimoto form Ponyo was this man's main inspiration.

A Sharkane bust... for reference purposes.

Yes yes I'm certain I've done some "weird" stuff with my creations lately, preferably the men. Though I don't want to disgust my viewers (of very little that actually view this blog, I felt like showing off a very cut version of NSFW art (for the best of reasons) of Sharkane, probably the most masculine of any other character in Aozora's Adventure.

Why I'm posting this is implied by the title, for reference since I've never done any form of colored art of Sharkane (his Buddypoke avatar doesn't count). By now I should really find something to do with my lady characters, so maybe I can gush out some well-needed fan service.

Meet Masayoshi

Still in the WIP stage.

The Items of Aozora's Adventure

Remember how I mentioned that the Aozora's Adventure side scrollers would use Mario power ups? Here's the complete list of the ones set to be represented in the second game:

Explaining: Aozora's Adventure and Aozora's Adventure II

I'm certain everyone has seen me bragging on and on about that the two main titles in the Aozora's Adventure series being platformers that play too similarly to the Super Mario games. Well, allow me to spare some details on the concepts.

*Each game has thirteen worlds, eleven standard, and two that are unlocked after the game's main story is finished. Each world has roughly between 10 to 30 main levels (with the 30 limit never being reached), five to twenty secret levels, and three bosses. The extreme number of levels can only be traced back to Mushroom Kingdom Fusion, which Aozora's Adventure draws major inspiration from.

*Melee attacks (punches, kicks, etc.) can be pulled off by the main characters in the second game.

*The first game features single player and two player co-op, either locally or online, while the second game has the above, but expands the number to four locally or six online. Certain enemies and bosses are given attack and/or speed boosts the more players active. Unlike NSMBWii and NSMBU, it is possible for players to be scrolled off without getting killed.

*With the online co-op's "Join" system, it is possible for players to end up in levels they haven't unlocked in the main story by joining another player that has already progressed through most of the game. If the player assists in beating the level, they will not have to replay the level when said player unlocks it in the main game, and they can just skip it, but the level will have to be replayed locally or during a "Host" session to have it count towards his/her game completion percentage.

Two additional modes: Time Attack and Score Attack, are also available, and each come with their own respective leaderboards, with local scores, recent plays, regional best, and worldwide best. The main game also features a highscore feature, but it's only for players that finish the game after getting every Star Coin in the game, calculated based on time taken, number of deaths and continues consumed. Also, each user can register only once per board, excluding on local boards, where the player may input a name of up to thirteen characters, and can wipe individual local highscores or all scores at will without deleting the player's save file(s).
*In Score Attack, Enemy spawners are disabled, and shell-based enemies stay in their spots if scrolled offscreen rather than respawning in their original locations. Dead enemies remain dead even after going into and exiting a bonus room.

*Player characters are given a lifebar represented in percents, which is by default 100%, but can be increased by picking up Heart Containers, with an additional 10% per Heart Container. Mushrooms, Super Mushrooms, and Ultra Mushrooms, as well as Max Hearts, are used to replenish lost energy. Damage taken varies based on the strength of the enemy, attack, or projectile.

 *Health a player sports is carried over from level to level.
 *When a Heart Container is collected for the first time in an specific spot, it becomes a Max Heart on repeated playthroughs.

*1UP Mushrooms are present, but are the rarest types item in the games, as each world has a very scarce amount of 1UPs, and they are either well-hidden or placed in an area that would take great skill to survive and claim the Mushroom. Unlike the Mario games, 1UPs do not respawn when replaying a level after death or completion, being replaced by a single Coin until the player spends time in other levels. The method that determines when a 1UP mushroom will be replenished in a level is based around a 10-barrel Russian Roulette system.

 *In contrast, killing enemies with a large combo or collecting 100 coins no longer awards lives. The former just awards 10,000 in place of 1UPs, while in the case of the latter, plays can stock up to 999,999,999 coins.

*Game Houses and Shops, the former replacing Toad Houses, appear on world maps. In the first game, both are ran by Shelbies (Enemies that behave much like Koopa Troopas), while in the second, in the form of playful cameos, DJ Varcanno of Fuzion Frenzy fame and hardcore shopkeeper Anizawa Meito (made popular by Lucky Star) take on their respective roles. Shops are done in the same vein as Mushroom Kingdom Fusion, but with standard coins as opposed to a second type of currency (Rupees in MKF's case).
 *As the player advances through the game, the number of items sold in shops increases gradually.
 *1UP Mushrooms are the only items that change in price as more are bought at once, increasing in value by 200 coins per 1UP bought. In a similar way to 1UP respawning in main levels, the system that determines when the 1UP mushroom's price drops by 200 is based on a five-barrel Russian Roulette.

*The worlds in each game are based on the following themes:
 *Aozora's Aventure:

1. Park City Zone- A mostly grass-themed world that takes place around and inside a small city. Boss is Ciber.
2. Blue Metropolis Zone- A large city with some futuristic aspects thrown in, and a large suspended highway. Boss is Moriya.
3. Palm Beach Zone- A futuristic beach that later on evolves into a magical world built with gemstones. Boss is Kokoro.
4. Woody Jungle Zone- A series of islands with beaches and tropical rainforests spread throughout. Boss is Beta.
5. Cloud Beanstalk Zone- A fantasy world in the sky, with many futuristic buildings and grassland areas. Boss is Redd.
6. Casino Palace Zone- A large city set at nightime, with many gambling themes. Boss is Higure.
7. Sky Battleship Zone- Another sky-themed world, this time on a large heavily-armored battleship flying high above the clouds, and even in them. Specific levels take place inside the battleship, with mechanical themes present throughout. Boss is Britly.
8. Frozen Factory Zone- A world that first begins as a snow-themed world, before progressing to a fire/lava themed world once inside it's factory, then going back to snow. Boss is Zidra.
9. Ruined Badlands Zone- Begins out in the desert, then enters a post-apocalyptic city. Boss is Simon.
10. Cosmic Chase Zone- An outer-space world that features some galactic cities and machinery encased in domes, as the player chases Joker's castle.
11. Joker's Castle- A castle in deep space that serves as the top-secret base of the professional assassins, the A.C.E.S.

 *Aozora's Advneture II:

1. White City Zone- A world that begins with a park and then a beach level, and from there on combines grass, urban, and snow themes, with night approaching quickly the further the player goes. Boss is Masayoshi.
2. Buccaneer Grotto Zone- A pirate-themed world with many wooden structures and a good number of cave and underwater levels. Boss is Chinatsu.
3. Metal Desert Zone- A desert world that brings forth many themes of ancient architecture, before throwing players into a gem mine/digging site. Boss is Girou.
4. Lantern Carnival Zone- A Japanese-esque world at nighttime, during a major festival, with some forest areas, and a large pagoda. Boss is Saniko.
5. Wave Cruiser Zone- Begins with a beach area at sunset, before progressing into a large cruise ship in daytime; combining both aquatic and mechanical themes. Boss is Fayato.
6. Canyon Highway Zone- Mixes themes of canyons and mines, eventually leading into a near-apocalyptic city. Boss is Kazuhiko.
7. Onyx Skyscraper Zone- Another large futuristic city at night, even more advanced than any seen before it, complete with a huge skyscraper. Boss is Bachi.
8. Blood Mountain Zone- A fire/lava themed world taking around and inside an active volcano with construction occurring on the volcano's surface and a large factory built inside. For the conclusion of the world, the player boards an airborne battleship for the third and final time. Boss is Sharkane with Grip and Gnear.
9. Crystal Clockwork Zone- A snow/ice-themed world with a few towns present, concludes inside a large factory that sports a giant clock at the peak. Boss is Mignoette.
10. Rocket Galaxy Zone- Takes place in outer space, but now on the surface of small planets and futuristic buildings.
11. Joker's Castle 2- Successor to the first Joker's Castle, with even more deadly traps.

 *In the case of both games, World 12 is a secret world with exactly eleven levels, each level becomes playable if all the Star Coins of the corresponding numbered world are completed, with an extra twelfth level becoming accessible once all 11 worlds are cleared of Star Coins. Completing World 12 with every Star Coin from said world allows the player to visit the "Master World", a thirteenth world that in the first game is opened similarly to Thirdspace from the well-known Super Mario World ROM hack The Second Reality Project Reloaded, while in the second it's opened automatically upon inspecting a gate in World 9 unseen previously.

*Powerups in Aozora's Adventure use pseudo-custom graphics from the Mario games or any other source, (keep in mind I'm not selling my game ideas) and the number of powerups represented continuously get bigger with each game. See for yourself.

The powerups themselves are not only based on Mario, but also the first Wario Land, the Kirby series, Rayman 3, and One Piece. Oh, and a bunch of retooled custom Mario powerups from Fantendo.

*The three bosses in each world, two mini bosses, and a main world boss, are fought alike a boss from the Mega Man games, complete with the screen-long hallway to the boss enclosed with one-way doors. None of them sport weaknesses, but some power ups may allow the player(s) to inflict damage faster than others. Boss levels would first begin with a short prelude level in vain to the third acts from the Sonic games on the Game Gear, usually with a few coins or a power up during the short run before the hallway. The end of World 11 features a boss rush with the main world bosses from the first nine worlds, again done in Mega Man style with the teleporters and extra health following each boss. At least no boss dies in three stomps (oh yeah you can stomp bosses too, but they're quite quick and may knock you aside if you stomp too often at once).

I'm sure some of you could link this to the term "Design by committee", but if the guys at FusionFangaming could pull something like this off with hundreds of levels and abilities, why shouldn't I? :/